The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence voted today to approve Rep. John Ratcliffe to be the next US intelligence director. Senators approved Ratcliffe in an 8 to 7 vote along party lines during a closed-door meeting. The previous SSCI vote to approve Dan Coats in 2017 was 14 to 2.  DNI Coats turned out to be a disappointment protecting the swamp.

Mr. Ratcliffe now moves to be confirmed by the full Senate before replacing acting Director of National Intelligence Richard “Ric” Grenell, who also is US ambassador to Germany. As acting DNI Grenell built a strong foundation for Ratcliffe to build upon; and there is a strong likelihood Grenell will stay close to the administration and lead President Trump’s Intelligence Advisory Board.

The ODNI position is important within the intelligence apparatus as the DNI is the hub for all intelligence agencies and the director controls the overall intelligence community.  The DNI also coordinates the declassification and release of executive branch documents.

Politico reports Ratcliffe is expected to be confirmed by the full Senate in a vote likely to be held after Memorial Day, according to Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo).

On April, 17, 2020, President Trump directed Secretary Perdue to expedite assistance to America’s farmers, ranchers and consumers. The President directed USDA to use all funds and authorities at its disposal. In addition to the $16 billion in direct payments, the details of which are expected to be announced shortly, USDA has begun to purchase & distribute up to $3 billion of ag products to those in need through the Food Box Distribution Program.

On Friday, May 15, 2020, Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump and Secretary Perdue toured Coastal Sunbelt Producers in Laurel, MD, which has begun the packing and distribution of these boxes to families in need. Contracts to distributors have been awarded by USDA.

Earlier today President Trump delivered remarks on supporting our Nation’s farmers, ranchers, and food supply chain in the Roosevelt Room of the White House.

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Kayleigh McEnany is very impressive as a press secretary. Today, press secretary Kayleigh McEnany appeared on ‘Fox & Friends’ this morning to discuss President Trump’s announcement that he is taking hydroxychloroquine as a preventative measure.

Additionally, McEnany discusses the ongoing White House economic recovery policy; the decision to withhold funding from the WHO until answers are given and reforms are made; and recent remarks by AG Bill Barr.

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In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the Donald Trump Administration and Presidency.

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

President Trump Twitter @POTUS / Vice President Pence Twitter @VP

Kayleigh McEnany Twitter @PressSec

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

The power of government comes from the people; or as we say in the U.S. “from the consent of the governed.”  When the people lead, the politicians are forced to follow.

Without implied consent the municipal or state government has no power.  None.

As a result, the lock-downs end when the majority of We The People no longer give our consent.

How do We The People retract our consent? We simply refuse to comply.

When the majority of people simply refuse to comply with unilateral dictates, and laugh in the faces of those who attempt to enforce them, the government no longer has power.

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An exclusive Treasury Department whistleblower outline in the Ohio Star is almost an absolute match to our research {Go Deep} on how President Obama constructed the political surveillance network during his second term.

According to the article in mid-December 2015 the Treasury whistleblower started noticing data-search transactions with the Treasury Dept. for specific people that aligned with the 2016 GOP primary.  The searches included Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort, Donald Trump and his family as well as certain members of congress.

[(L-R) Denis McDonough, Joe Biden, President Obama, Tom Donolin, Jack Lew]

The complaint outlines an unnamed database [likely NSA] was used as the first search mechanism.  After initial data was extracted the results were then used to transfer more specific searches to the Treasury dept.   The level of detail within the whistleblower complaint is eerily familiar to our own research based on declassified records.

OHIO STAR – […] By March 2016, the whistleblower said she and a colleague, who was detailed to Treasury from the intelligence community, became convinced that the surveillance of Flynn was not tied to legitimate criminal or national security concerns, but was straight-up political surveillance among other illegal activity occurring at Treasury.

“When I showed it to her, what she said, ‘Oh, sh%t!’ and I knew right then and there that I was right – this was some shady stuff,” the whistleblower said.

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House Intel Committee ranking member Devin Nunes appears on Fox News to discuss the remarks earlier in the day where AG Bill Barr does not foresee any criminal investigation of President Obama or Vice-President Joe Biden.

Rep. Nunes again refers to the buckets of intelligence that would help outline everything that has taken place. Bucket-1 DOJ/FBI activity prior to July 31, 2016. Bucket-2 DOJ/FBI activity between July 31, 2016 and the inauguration. Bucket-3 everything that takes place after the Trump inauguration, to include the Mueller investigation.

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The bottom line is we need full transparency and a complete declassification of the underlying documents that were redacted and hidden to protect the prior behavior.

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We are nearing the end of the beginning of the end, as Senator Lindsey Graham announces a request for a senate hearing to consider scheduling another senate hearing to consider the possible subpoenas for witnesses to appear at a later senate hearing over potential testimony at a possible senate hearing or deposition thereafter.

WASHINGTON – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today announced that the Committee would debate and vote on a subpoena authorization related to the FISA abuse investigation and oversight of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation.

Graham’s subpoena authorization covers a number of documents, communications and testimony from witnesses, including James Comey, Andrew McCabe, James Clapper, John Brennan, Sally Yates, and others.

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Spontaneous ‘splody heads erupted around the media press pool today as President Trump remarked he has been taking hydrozychloroquine as a preventative measure against COVID-19.  “You’d be surprised at how many people are taking it, especially the front-line workers before you catch it. The front-line workers — many, many are taking it. I happen to be taking it. I happen to be taking it — Hydroxychloroquine,” Trump said.

The jaw-agape media immediately reacted: “hydroxychloroquine?” “when?” “now?”

President Trump replied: “right now, yeah. A couple of weeks ago, I started taking it. I’ve heard a lot of good stories. And if it is not good, I will tell you right. I’m not going to get hurt by it. It has been around for 40 years for malaria, for lupus, for other things. I take it,” he said.  WATCH:

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